Page:Life Amongst the Modocs.djvu/217

 h life.

The next day, as we rode through the trees, he whistled at the partridges as they ran in strings across the trails, and chirped at the squirrels over head.

How delightful it was to ride through the grass and trees, hear the partridges whistle, pack and unpack the horses, pitch the tent by the water, and make a military camp, and talk of war ; imagine battles, shoot from behind the pines, and always, of course, making yourself a hero. Splendid ! I was busy as a bee. I cooked, packed, stood guard, killed game, did everything. And so we journeyed on through the splendid forests, under the face of Shasta, and over peaceful little streams that wound silently through the grass, as if afraid, till we came to the head-waters of the Sacramento.

Sometimes we saw other camps. White tents pitched down by the shining river, among the scat tered pines ; brown mules and spotted ponies feeding, and half buried in the long grass ; and the sound of the picks in the bar below us all made a picture in my life to love.

Once we fell in with an Indian party ; pretty girls and lively unsuspicious boys along with their parents, fishing for salmon, and not altogether at war with the whites. They treated us with great kindness.

At last we branched off entirely to ourselves, cut ting deep into the mountain as the winter approached, looking for a home. The weak condition of the Doctor made it necessary that we brou